Gannon's Isle to open year-round ice cream shop in downtown Syracuse

Gannon's Isle, a seasonal ice cream stand operating in the Valley neighborhood of Syracuse since 1982, plans to open a year-round shop in the downtown Dey's Centennial Building in April.

(Photo by Ellen M. Blalock / The Post-Standard)

Gannon's Isle – the beloved Valley ice cream shop – is coming to downtown Syracuse with what is projected as a year-round place to get your frozen dairy fix.

The downtown Gannon's is expected to open by mid-April in the Dey's Centennial Building, next to the Café Kubal coffee shop, said Eileen Gannon, who runs the ice cream business with her brothers, John and Dan.

The downtown shop will serve all the goodies – hard and soft ice cream, sundaes, frozen cakes and other novelties – that Gannon’s currently sells at its original shop at 1525 Valley Drive and satellite location at 4800 McDonald Road.

The opening of the downtown location will mark the first time the family will attempt to make Gannon’s a year-round enterprise. The other two locations are typically open from March or April until around Thanksgiving.

“We think there’s a demand, especially for the cakes and novelties, that can support being open all year downtown,” Gannon said. It also means production will happen year-round back at the Valley store.

That was a success, Eileen Gannon said, but the carts were limited in what they could offer.

“People were wanting sundaes and things we just couldn’t do from the cart,” she said. “So we knew there’s a market downtown for what we do.”

The design of the downtown shop will reflect something of an old-fashioned ice cream parlor, she said. It will have tables and booths, and there will be outdoor, sidewalk seating on the Jefferson Street side in nice weather.